Title

Author

Degree Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

2003

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Valerie Sheares Ashby

Abstract

The development of functionalized materials has been achieved by the use of two different methods. The first method utilized a functional monomer that was subsequently polymerized to give the desired material. The second approach was a post-polymerization technique that allowed functionalization after the polymer was synthesized.;Functionalized monomers have the advantage of direct application after polymerization. Butadiene-based monomers have been chosen for their potential use in industrial systems. The chosen monomer, 2-(N-piperidylmethyl)-1,3-butadiene, contains a tertiary amine. This amine moiety has many potential applications in the areas of water treatment, biological applications, adhesives and sealants. Bulk free radical, emulsion and anionic polymerization techniques have been used to optimize the end materials to give various types of copolymers with styrene.;High performance thermoplastics were synthesized using the post-polymerization functionalization technique. Poly(arylene phosphine oxide)s containing an aryl fluoride were used with nucleophilic aromatic substitution to create a wide range of materials that varied in solubility and thermal properties. Due to the phosphine oxide in the backbone, these materials had excellent thermal stability. The poly(arylene phosphine oxide) was made using Ni(0)-catalyzed coupling to create aryl-aryl bonds in the backbone. Copolymers with fluorinated benzophenone have also been synthesized to increase their solubility and have been used as epoxy cure agents.